Vendor Tour: 111 Maine

I recently visited 111 Maine as they were ramping up for wedding season. The catering company is named after its old address, when it also doubled as a restaurant. Since then, owner Jennifer Banis has focused her attentions on weddings, moving the company closer to home in Topsham, Maine. I was lucky enough to sample their dishes at a wedding last fall. It was truly delicious.

There is always something exciting about the start of wedding season. I was there opening day of the kitchen, as Jennifer and her crew began prepping for weddings. They took stock of the kitchen, and gave little cheers when the delivery trucks arrived, both curious to meet the new drivers and sample the wares. Jennifer (a mother of four, including twins born in January!) was, of course, working on little sleep, but you couldn't tell by her energy and enthusiasm.

Jennifer has been in business evolving her company since 2005 and is quite obviously passionate about her craft. I loved hearing her talk about the menus for that weekend. When the boxes of ingredients arrived, Jennifer picked through each one to make sure it was the freshest. She and her team kept the work lighthearted as well. One of their favorite past times, I learned, was to set aside interestingly shaped vegetables, like the "carrot legs" I was lucky enough to document. Once they found a few, they used them to create quirky characters.

It was so great to see the behind-the-scenes, Jennifer! Wishing you all the best in the upcoming season.